I was looking for some lunch options at Antre Marche Shin-Osaka, located on the 3rd floor of Shin-Osaka Station. There were about 50 choices available since it was still morning. I decided to go with the Kyoto-style Makunouchi. When I opened it, there were various items inside, such as red rice, inari sushi, simmered dishes, grilled salted saury, and teriyaki chicken. The selection seemed more suitable for pairing with alcohol rather than rice. Unfortunately, I only had a bottle of water with me, so I couldn't fully enjoy the pairing. Nevertheless, it was a delicious meal! I was traveling on the Sanyo Shinkansen Hikari, so it was a comfortable and uncrowded ride. It's a bit challenging to enjoy station bento on the Nozomi trains during these times.

In late August 2020, on my third whirlwind business trip to Osaka, I stopped by "Tabebento Shin-Osaka" on my way back. I purchased the "Beef Harami, Beef Sukiyaki, and Beef Tongue Beef Lover's Bento (¥1,000 tax included)." I enjoyed it with a beer on the Shinkansen train after 18:30. After leaving home in the morning for 12 hours, I still have a 3-hour journey ahead of me. The beef harami, beef sukiyaki, and beef tongue had decent quality meat, though the seasoning was on the stronger side. It was a perfect match for the tired body, along with the beer.

I had the opportunity to look for a station bento at Shin-Osaka Station. I decided to search for a famous one, and after checking various websites on my smartphone, I found that the "Tabi no Nigiwai Gozen" was ranked number one in December 2019. This station bento allows you to taste several familiar local dishes around Shin-Osaka, offering a great value. It's important to note that the "Tabi no Nigiwai Gozen" can be purchased at the "Nigiwai" bento corner on the 2nd floor souvenir street and at the bento corner near the Shinkansen central exit on the 3rd floor. I purchased it on the 3rd floor, where there was a sign claiming it was the "most popular." It cost 1000 yen, which was a good deal. I opened it in the cool 500 Series Kodama train car. The bento had five sections: simmered dish, sukiyaki, assorted side dishes, rice for takoyaki, and red rice. Each dish was carefully prepared and delicious, offering a taste of the Kansai region. The bento even included Kobe-based Oliver sauce for the kushikatsu and takoyaki. Overall, it was a delightful experience, and I recommend trying the "Tabi no Nigiwai Gozen" when buying a station bento at Shin-Osaka Station.

The word "station bento" brings various images to mind. K2FB here. On my way back from a business trip, I stopped by the Ekibenya shop inside Shin-Osaka Station in the morning. This shop sells station bento from all over Japan, operated by JR West. I was drawn to the persimmon leaf sushi (4 pieces of mackerel, 4 pieces of salmon) displayed in the sample showcase! Representing Nara Prefecture, this pressed sushi wrapped in persimmon leaves is delightful. The vinegar rice is perfectly balanced, with a gentle sweetness. Available in combinations of mackerel/salmon, 4 pieces/6 pieces/8 pieces, but even with 8 pieces, you can enjoy it without getting tired. I think Ekibenya is a convenient and satisfying option for travelers.

I bought a bento and boarded the Shinkansen. I didn't realize it when I bought it, but when I looked inside the train, it was a Suiryoken bento. I remember there was talk of bankruptcy at one point, but they have successfully revived. The Kansai hospitality bento had 9 compartments with side dishes and rice, making it a bento that would appeal to women. It was an elegant bento with 3 compartments of rice, 1 compartment of tempura, and the rest filled with side dishes. I feel like having a beer, but I'll settle for green tea since it's a work trip. Thank you for the meal!

"I was on a business trip from Shin-Osaka Station. Recently, there are some nice restaurants within the station premises, and I was thinking of eating there because there are some delicious options. However, when I saw the bento boxes being sold, I couldn't resist and ended up leaning towards that. To experience a travel-like feeling, bento boxes are the way to go, right? When I saw them being sold, I couldn't help but be drawn to them. The one I picked up was the Grilled Beef Rib Bento. Yes, it's quite hearty. Since I arrived early, I also bought a beer. When I opened it, there was a generous amount of meat that didn't seem like your typical bento box. It was wonderful. Sweet and savory meat, sometimes accompanied by refreshing pickled ginger. This, paired with beer, was a perfect match. It was delicious. I might end up buying one on my way back too. Bento boxes."

I received this dish on the Shinkansen from Osaka. The octopus rice bowl was incredibly delicious!

I impulsively bought a hearty bento from Seven Eleven, but my wife purchased a "Osaka-like" station bento. It had a rich variety of colors and looked better than mine.

This is a bento shop located outside the ticket gates of Shin-Osaka Station. The shop not only offers bento boxes from Osaka, but also a variety of bento boxes from all over Japan, which is quite interesting! There is another shop within Shin-Osaka Station with even more impressive selection of bento boxes from the same chain, but I found this one to be sufficient. Among the bento boxes from all over Japan, I chose the "Gyutan Sairice Bento" from a Gyutan (beef tongue) restaurant called "Rikyu" in Sendai, which costs 1,080 yen including tax. I enjoyed it on the return Shinkansen ride (^o^) This bento box features barley rice topped with two types of Gyutan (beef tongue) - one marinated in sauce and the other seasoned with salt, along with Gyutan minced meat spread on top. It also comes with Nanban miso (miso with green chili peppers) and pickled shiba (Japanese knotweed). The Gyutan in this bento box is thinly sliced, not the thick cuts you might find at a Gyutan specialty restaurant. Despite being thin, the meat felt tender and the seasoning was quite good. The minced meat was also delicious. There was quite a generous amount of Gyutan, and the Nanban miso served as a good side dish, so I felt like I could have used a little more rice. For those who love Gyutan, I highly recommend this bento box (^-^)/

I bought a bento box at Shin-Osaka Station. Even if you don't go through the Shinkansen ticket gates, there are plenty of bento boxes available in the morning, so you can buy them even if you're not taking the Shinkansen, like on a bus tour. There are even more bento boxes available inside the Shinkansen area, but it's a hassle to buy an entry ticket (120 yen) just for that. We were planning to have breakfast, but we were indecisive and ended up getting bento boxes for the morning. There were so many bento boxes to choose from that we couldn't decide. I chose one with less rice as much as possible. I had the Kurigohan Bento from Maneki Foods for 850 yen, which was a bento box filled with plenty of mountain delicacies. I had the Takenmusubi Onigiri Bento from Awajiya for 850 yen, which came in a bento box made of bamboo leaves that looked reusable. The bento box contained two onigiri rice balls and plenty of side dishes, including mixed grain onigiri, plum onigiri, fried chicken, rolled omelette, fish cake, grilled salmon, beef and vegetable stew, and fish cake balls. All the side dishes were elegantly seasoned and delicious! It had a healthy feel to it, but it was surprisingly filling.

Kashiwameshi, a specialty of Orio Station. It is a popular ekiben representing Kyushu and often ranks high in ekiben contests. While it is commonly seen in Fukuoka and Kitakyushu, it is difficult to find outside of Kyushu. One of the only ways to get it outside of Kyushu is at Shin-Osaka Station, specifically at the Shin-Osaka Station Ekiben 1st Store. This store only sells ekiben on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and they tend to sell out quickly, so be careful. The ekiben comes in a wooden tray, similar to the one used for Sakyokan's shumai bento. The advantage of this tray is that it absorbs moisture from the rice, preventing it from becoming sticky, and it gives off a slight wooden aroma, enhancing the ekiben experience. However, the rice can stick to the tray. The contents are simple: rice cooked in broth with boiled chicken, shredded omelette, and seaweed. The tray also includes sweetened uguisu beans, pickled ginger, pickled shiso leaves, and Nara pickles. The chicken is chopped into small pieces, seasoned with soy sauce and broth, and pairs well with the rice. The omelette and seaweed are lightly flavored, not overpowering the simple broth-flavored rice. The various condiments serve as a nice palate cleanser. Overall, it is a comforting and reliable taste. Truly a historic ekiben that has been enjoyed since before the war. Thank you for the meal.

I chose a bento box for lunch on the Shinkansen. The Ekiben Corner in Shin-Osaka Ekimarche offers a variety of bento boxes from all over Japan, with about 100 different types available. It was crowded with people lining up, and the popular items sell out by around 10 o'clock. I chose the Anago (conger eel) bento and the Kagoshima black pork rice, and enjoyed them on the Shinkansen. It was a delightful way to experience the atmosphere of traveling.

Another business trip to Tokyo~☆ This time, staying overnight to visit clients in the Kanto region for year-end greetings. Now, I'm looking forward to choosing my bento for the Shinkansen ride~ What should I go for this time? Maybe the "Special Tonkatsu Bento" for 880 yen. The thick cutlet is so satisfying~♫ I wonder if the "special" refers to this thickness and the delicious sauce? The sauce made with lots of fruits pairs perfectly with this tonkatsu♫ Simple but fulfilling bento♫ Maybe I'll go for a Makunouchi bento on my next trip at the end of next month~♫ Thank you for the meal~♫

Oops! I overslept. I left the house without eating breakfast and headed to Shin-Osaka Station. Since I need energy for the day, I bought a breakfast bento box from "Tabebento" near the Shinkansen ticket gate at Shin-Osaka Station. I chose the Japanese breakfast bento box for 420 yen. There were many other delicious options, but I went for the cheapest one to save money. The Japanese breakfast bento box included two rice balls, salmon, fish cake, and rolled omelette. The seaweed was not wrapped around the rice balls but came separately. If you like crispy seaweed, it's a good choice. As for me, I prefer when the seaweed is wrapped around the rice balls. Now that I've finished my bento, I'm going to take a little nap to make sure I don't oversleep again. Thanks for the meal. September 2014.

2013.08 Revisit - Introducing the "Naniwa Full of Delights" bento box. It includes sauce yakisoba with potatoes, octopus, and pumpkin, beef skewers, katsu curry, rice, and takoyaki. Quite an interesting mix! ^^ 2012.09 Revisit - My Shinkansen train departed from Shin-Osaka, so the train was already on the platform well before the departure time. I bought a bento box and my reserved seat was quite far away from the shop (16 cars, impressive, must be a 16-car train!). I thought, "Well, I can start eating before departure time." So, I brought a Kirin Ichiban Shibori 350ml from the kiosk onto the train. I usually prefer to eat station bento boxes once the train is moving, but this time, I decided to start before departure with the seasonal "Autumn Delicacies Bento." It had thinly sliced matsutake mushrooms and autumn delicacy chestnuts. The rice was labeled as domestic rice. Eating a bento box on the train is really delicious!

This year's trip also started with a bento from here (laughs). The makunouchi was deliciousヽ(^o^)丿 but the shrimp cutlet was...(^_^;) [Visited in May 2012] I bought a bento box as I visited Kyushu using the Sakura Shinkansen. Beef belly stir-fried rice (1050 yen) and Takekago (880 yen). The beef belly was a quite large block of meat with a good seasoning. The Takekago had a small amount of rice for the side dishes, which was a bit disappointing. Eating bento boxes occasionally is really nice, isn't it?ヽ(^o^)丿

I bought a bento box at Shin-Osaka. Lately, I've been going to Tokyo more often for work, which takes about 2 hours and 40 minutes. In places like Nagoya, I don't need to buy a bento box, but in Tokyo, I find myself needing to buy one frequently due to afternoon appointments. Today, I bought a travel bento box. The space here has been renovated and expanded, and you can also buy souvenirs. I bought the "Naniwa Gozen" bento box today, which costs 1000 yen. It includes salted salmon, which was cooked just right, although they accidentally put tonkatsu sauce on it, giving it a unique taste. It also has a light and fluffy rolled omelet, fish cake, simmered vegetables, sweet potato and bell pepper tempura, and surprisingly, takoyaki. The cabbage curry next to the tonkatsu was also delicious.

It would be helpful if you could understand this review more as a review of this bento box rather than of the store. I arrived at Shin-Osaka Station early in the morning with only a little over 5 minutes to transfer to the Shinkansen, so I didn't have time to carefully choose a bento box. However, I was delighted to see the words "Rokko-san," which I used to climb almost every week during my student days, and I couldn't help but think that this "Rokko-san Bento" was developed just for me. Despite not having high expectations, I bought it based on the name alone. The price was also cheap at 600 yen compared to other bento boxes. Surprisingly, this bento box turned out to be very authentic with over 10 different side dishes in small portions, making it enjoyable and delicious. It may not be satisfying for those who prefer hearty meals, but I felt it would be suitable as a snack to accompany drinks. I don't usually recommend station bento boxes to others, but I highly recommend trying this one. - Beef and shirataki sukiyaki style - Teriyaki chicken - Carrot - Rolled kombu - Snow peas - Kamaboko (fish cake) - Tamagoyaki (rolled omelette) - Squid simmered in soy sauce - Grilled salted salmon - Burdock root - Baby sardines - Barley rice ball - Five-grain rice ball - Nara pickles

The bento boxes are a bit expensive. Even if they're not that great, it would be nice to have some bento boxes with good cost performance, like the shumai bento in the Kanto region. I tried the pork kabayaki bento, which was tasty but quite salty. You can't eat it without tea, and you get a free tea service voucher for next time. Since I don't travel to Osaka often, I can't use it and end up throwing it away. If I could use that voucher, the cost performance would be quite good...